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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23219794">The Not So Dead Uchiha</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zcassiandra/pseuds/Zcassiandra'>Zcassiandra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Not So Dead Uchiha [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood &amp; Manga, Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A little bit of angst, Elicia is a shit-stirring 6-year-old and I wouldn't have it any other way, He's raising all of Konoha's orphans now, His real name is Uchiha Masao, I swear, It's Maes, Maes most definitely took Gracia's last name, Ninja!Maes, Uchiha!Maes, Whomst the fuck is raising these orphans!, just a smidge</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:02:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,624</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23219794</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zcassiandra/pseuds/Zcassiandra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maes didn't know what he was expecting when he returned to Konoha after twelve years, but it certainly wasn't this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes/Roy Mustang</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Not So Dead Uchiha [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699417</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Arrival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>          Maes leads his girls along the civilian road to Konohagakure no Sato. The large trees that surround the village bring comfort and a sense of calm settles over the Hughes family.  “Hey there, I’m going to need your papers.” The chunin at the gate asks. Maes hands Gracia the sleeping Elicia and starts searching through his bag.</p><p>          “Dang it, I know it’s in here somewhere. Aha! Here.” Maes hands his Konoha passport over to the chunin, who spends far too long staring between him and the passport. He turns towards his fellow guard and shows him the passport. “Umm, there’s nothing wrong with my papers, right? I know it’s been over a decade, but I don’t look that different, do I?”</p><p>          One chunin shushins away. “Sorry about this Uchiha-san, but I need you to accompany me to the Hokage’s office. Your family can come.” Maes smiles at that and leads his girls to Hokage Tower.</p><p>          “How is Minato-sensei? Hokage life treating him and Kushina-san well?” The chunin they were following stops and turns to face them. </p><p>          “We’re going to visit the Sandaime.” It was Maes’ turn to stop.</p><p>          “The Sandaime? But Minato-sensei was the Yondaime. What happened to them?” The chunin shuffles on the spot, looking terribly awkward.</p><p>          “The Sandaime will explain everything, Uchiha-san. Please follow me to Hokage Tower.” The rest of the trip is silent, Maes being too busy rolling the information about Minato-sensei in his head, his feet taking familiar streets through the village. Maes is pulled from his thoughts by Gracia gently handing him Elicia who is starting to wake up. </p><p>          “Papa? Are we there yet?” Maes smiles softly at his little angel.</p><p>          “Yeah, sweetie. We’re here. I just have to talk to the village leader and then we can go to our new home, okay?”</p><p>          “Okay Papa.” Elicia gives him a hug and curls up to sleep again. The chunin shows them into the Hokage’s office and behind the desk is Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama. The old ruler looks up from his paperwork and stares.</p><p>          “Kotetsu, why are these civilians here?”</p><p>          The chunin, now identified as Hagane Kotetsu (one of Maes’ juniors at the academy), motions to the Hughes’. “Hokage-sama, this is Uchiha Masao and his family.”</p><p>          The Sandaime drops the papers in his hand and stands abruptly. “You can’t be here. You were declared KIA in your last mission! How are you here?”</p><p>          Maes smiles sheepishly at that, praying that Aoba wouldn’t suddenly appear. “About that… I asked Aoba to tell you I was KIA. It was the easiest way I could get out of the village without becoming a nukenin. During that last mission I met Gracia and fell in love. I would have wasted away here without her, so I moved to Amestris for her. I’m only coming back because my family is at risk and there is no safer place then within these walls. Please Hokage-sama, allow me to return home.” Maes bows his head to the Sandaime who looks conflicted.</p><p>          “Masao-”</p><p>          “It’s Maes, sir. Maes Hughes.”</p><p>          “Maes then. Before you can become a citizen again, there is a lot I need to tell you.” The Sandaime looks like he’d aged three decades in five seconds. “As you can probably tell something happened to the Yondaime. Minato and Kushina sacrificed themselves to stop the Kyuubi, who had been ripped out of Kushina after she had given birth to their son, Naruto. Naruto became the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi the night of his birth. Many believed that an Uchiha took control of the Kyuubi. One night, four years ago Itachi massacred everyone in the Uchiha compound except for his younger brother, Sasuke. Itachi was declared a nukenin and has a high bounty in the bingo book. You only have one Clan member left, not including your wife and child. I’m so sorry, Maes.”</p><p>          Maes wants nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry but he needs to be strong for his girls and these two young boys he’s adopting. “That is not the news I was expecting. Who has been raising Fugaku-san and Minato-sensei’s kids?”</p><p>          The Sandaime winces. Maes feels a pure unadulterated fury bubble within him. “If you say no-one, Hokage-sama.” The Sandaime winces again.</p><p>          “Are you fucking kidding me, that’s insane! Those poor boys. I'm raising them. I don't care if they're genin now, I'm raising them. I need to speak with Naruto and Sasuke.”</p><p>          “Ah, Maes, they are about to leave on their first C-Rank mission as a genin. If you’re fast enough, you might be able to catch Kakashi before they leave.”</p><p>          Maes stares. “Wait, little Kakashi is their jounin instructor?”</p><p>          “Gai requested that Kakashi be removed from Anbu about two years ago. Gai also suggested that Kakashi receive a genin team to aid his recovery.”</p><p>          "You'll have to fill me in more later, Hokage-sama. Right now, I need to catch my cousin. Could you get Genma to take my girls to the Uchiha compound?" Maes hands Elicia back to his wife and leaps out one of the giant windows in the office, taking the rooftop pathways to reach the gate faster.</p><p>          Maes had an intense feeling of nostalgia as he traversed the roofs. He remembers doing this as a child, chasing his friends and teammates across the village, annoying the civilians by participating in one of Gai’s insane bets, good times. He makes it to the gate at roughly the same time as Kakashi and what looks to be their client. The genin look at Maes, confusion evident on their faces.</p><p>          “Kakashi-sensei, who’s this? I didn’t know we were escorting two civilians to Nami no Kuni.” The pink-haired kunoichi comments. </p><p>          “That’s correct Sakura. So, what brings you here, sir?” Kakashi looks calm on the outside but Maes can tell that he’s on guard. Maes puts his hands up placatingly.</p><p>          “Ma, Kakashi. Is that how you treat a fellow jounin? I know it’s been over a decade, but you can't have forgotten me.” Kakashi stares blankly at Maes. “Fine, I guess we won’t play the pronoun game. Hey, I’m Uchiha Masao, but you can call me Maes.”</p><p>          Kakashi jumps into action immediately, holding a kunai at Maes’ throat. “The Uchiha are dead.”</p><p>          “So, I heard. I also heard about Minato-sensei. Are you ok, Kakashi?” Kakashi pulls away slightly, the mention of Minato-sensei clearly still being too raw. “The Sandaime just finished informing my wife and I about what happened in the last twelve years. But anyway, hi Sasuke, I’m your cousin. Naruto, I knew your parents. I can tell you about them after you’ve come back from this mission. Have fun Sakura, you’ll do great.” Maes acknowledges each genin, because they’re so small and about to go on their first C-Rank mission. </p><p>          “Are you really an Uchiha?” Sasuke asks, fear and hope in his young eyes. Maes’ heart goes out to the poor boy.</p><p>          “Yeah Sasuke, I am.” Kakashi has fully pulled away now so Maes drops to a knee to look Sasuke in the eyes. Maes does something he hasn’t had to do since Ishval and pulses chakra into his eyes and activates his Sharingan. Sasuke stares into the swirling red eyes and his lip trembles. A small hand reaches out and touches Maes’ face hesitantly. </p><p>          “They’re real.” Sasuke whispers reverently. Maes smiles softly at this tiny child and opens his arms. Sasuke hesitates for just a second before falling into Maes’ arms, clinging to his back desperately. </p><p>          “Oh, for fuck sake! I’m paying you to get me home, not stall at the gate for a thousand years.” Maes feels Sasuke flinch and turns towards the old drunkard.</p><p>          “You can wait five seconds for me to comfort my cousin, you asshole. Five more minutes won’t kill you.” The old drunkard glares at Maes, who turns back to the sobbing Sasuke. “Hey there kiddo, I’m going to need you let go now. You have a mission to fulfil. I promise I’ll be here when you get back. Bring your friends over when you come home, we can have a sleepover and I can tell you stories about life outside the village. Okay?”</p><p>          Sasuke nods and moves away, wiping the tears from his eyes. He smiles wetly at Maes before turning to leave. </p><p>          “Sorry about that Kakashi. Have fun on your mission. I’ll see you all when you get back.” Maes smiles sheepishly at Kakashi, who just sighs and turns back to his genin.</p><p>          “Alright, this is Team Seven leaving for Nami no Kuni. See you when we return.”</p><p>          “Fucking finally.” Maes contemplates how easy it would be to kill their client but decides against it. He waves at the genin, who all return it happily, then turns away. A quick shushin gets him back to the roof and Maes makes his way towards the Uchiha compound. He lands outside the gate and finds Genma standing there with his girls.</p><p>          “Hey Genma, long time no see-” Genma’s fist slams into Maes’ face, sending him flying. Gracia yelps at the display of violence and turns away, preventing Elicia from seeing her father attacked.</p><p>          “You mother fucker! You couldn’t have told us off the record that you were leaving! It took Gai months! To get over the fact you were dead! And you just show up twelve years later with a wife and kid!” Genma paces angrily in front of Maes, who has a hand to his cheek. After his rant, Genma reaches out a hand to Maes who gratefully accepts it. Genma heaves Maes off the floor and pulls him into a hug. Maes grips tightly onto his friend, tears prickling in the corner of his eyes.</p><p>          “I missed you too, Genma. Sorry I took so long.” Genma laughs wetly into Maes’ shoulder before pulling back.</p><p>          “You better be, asshole. I’ve already asked Gai to show up. He should be here in a few minutes; he’s just finishing up with his genin.” Maes’ face goes white.</p><p>          “Gai is coming here? Oh no, I’m going to be killed. Gracia, my love, these last twelve years have been splendid. Elicia, sweetie, Papa won’t be around for much longer! Genma, you sick bastard, you just wanted to torture me, didn’t you?”</p><p>          Genma and his girls laugh at how dramatic he was being but Maes doesn’t care. He throws himself around dramatically, clutching his heart in pain and falling onto Genma, who pushes him off. Maes grins cheekily at his company before turning to face the gates. He can feel it, Gai sprinting through the village to get here as fast as inhumanly possible. Maes braces himself just in time because Gai appears suddenly at the end of the street and does a flying leap into Maes’ arms.</p><p>          “Masao!"</p><p>          Maes holds Gai tightly and spins around, crying openly now that his whole team is together. "Gai! I'm sorry I was gone for so long! I'm back now, for good." Gai gives a shuddering breath and hides his face in Maes’ shoulder. Maes holds out a hand to Genma who takes it and joins the group hug. They stay like that for what feels like hours, just revelling in being together again. Maes pulls away from his friends and smiles. “Right, now that that’s done.” Maes laughs out wetly, wiping the tears from his eyes. “May I reintroduce myself. The names Maes Hughes, this is my wife Gracia and my little angel Elicia. Gracia, Elicia, these are some of my friends Shiranui Genma and Maito Gai.”</p><p>          “It is a pleasure to meet the True Love of my Best Friend.” Gracia blushes sweetly at Gai’s comment and giggles at his over the top persona. </p><p>          “Ne, Papa? Do you kiss Mister Gai like you kiss Mama and Uncle Roy?” Maes sputters and Gai starts blushing furiously. Genma bursts into peals of laughter so hard he can't breathe.</p><p>          "Elicia! Don't talk about your father like that!"</p><p>          "But Mama, I want to know if I'll have another Uncle!" Genma, who had just caught his breath, falls over laughing a second time. Maes sighs at his daughter’s antics.</p><p>          “Not this time Elicia, darling.” Elicia pouts a little at her father and pokes her tongue out, Maes responds in kind.</p><p>          “Maes, dear, are you going to show us to our new house?” That sobers Maes up and he moves to his wife.</p><p>          “Of course, Gracia, darling. Genma, Gai, we’ll have to catch up for drinks another time. I’d like to get my family settled tonight. See you around.” Maes exchanged hugs with them both before they left to return to the village proper. Maes turned to his girls and grins. “Let’s go home shall we.”</p><p>          Maes leads his girls through the compound, staring at the decrepit buildings that line the main street. The further into the compound, the heavier the air feels. Maes reaches Fugaku-san’s house and pauses. It’s the only house in the compound that looks liveable. “Oh shit, Sasuke’s been living here alone. His parents died here.”</p><p>          “Then we’ll just have to make it a home, won’t we.” Gracia smiles up at her husband who nods. Maes walks up to the front door and lets them inside. The first room they come across has bloodstains on the tatami mats. </p><p>          “For fucks sake! They couldn’t even replace the tatami before letting Sasuke come home! I’ll go see if I can find any clean tatami from one of the nearby houses. You girls get started here. I’ll be right back.” Maes kisses Gracia gently and ruffles Elicia’s hair before going back out into the empty compound.</p><p>          The Hughes family gets to work cleaning the old building. Gracia and Elicia clean the kitchen, bedrooms and most of the walls by the time Maes returns with the clean tatami. He gets to work immediately, ripping up the bloodstained tatami.</p><p>          Hours past and the house is now clean. Maes wraps his arms around Gracia, resting his head on her shoulder, as Elicia runs up and down the halls shouting in delight. “I’m glad the house is clean. I can’t believe that Hokage of yours just let an eight-year-old live in a place like this without supervision.”</p><p>          “Unfortunately, it happened but we’re here to fix it now, for both Sasuke and Naruto.” Gracia smiles at Maes and pulls away.</p><p>          “I’m going to take Elicia shopping. Why don’t you go find somewhere quiet to process everything?” Maes grabs both of Gracia’s hands and kisses them.</p><p>          “You always know what I need. I’m sure if you asked, Genma or Gai would be willing to help you shop. I’ll try to be home before dinner.” Gracia reaches up and grabs his face, kissing him softly before resting her head against his.</p><p>          “Go. We’ll be here when you get back.” Maes looks adoringly at his wife and kisses her again.</p><p>          "I love you." Maes whispers into her hair before turning away. He exits the house and picks a random direction before setting off, leaping on the rooftops towards one of the many training grounds. He lands in what looks to be training ground three, the wooden pillars giving it away. Maes wanders through the training ground, listening to the sounds produced by Konoha at night. Further in, Maes finds a stone slab littered with names. He searches for familiar people - Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, Obito, himself. Maes' eyes linger on his old name, feelings of pain and anguish rising abruptly from within. He takes one of his trusty push knives and slowly drags it through his name, carving a line deep into the stone. Tears run down his cheeks, silent but full of despair. Maes pulls away from the stone and screams.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Trials</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>          Maes doesn’t know how long he’s been here but his throat is raw. His body is wracked with sobs and his head hurts. ‘<em>Shit, I- I never said goodbye to my parents! To Tobi! I can't believe I lost him too. I'll never be able to introduce my girls to the clan. I won't be able to joke around with Minato-sensei again. Fuck! Why was I so stupid?</em>'</p><p>          Maes claws at the ground, ripping up chunks of dirt and grass. He knows why he was stupid, that last mission he went on was a deep undercover, infiltration mission to determine whether Amestris was a threat. He went on the mission thinking it would be simple, just six months in a foreign country before coming home. He hadn't expected to meet Gracia or Roy. Hadn't expected to fall in love. '<em>Fuck, Roy! He doesn't know! Shit, fuck, fuck, shit!</em>'</p><p>          Maes tries to get up from the floor but fails, his legs shaking so badly it hurts. “Fuck! Ow, ow, ow. Clearly, I’ve been here for too long. Shit, what’s the time?” Maes tries to pull himself up again, this time pushing through the pain. “Ah, ha, ha, ha, ow. Shit, that hurts.” He takes a cautious step, catching himself before he falls, and slowly begins his trip back to the compound. Maes furiously wipes the tears from his eyes as he walks, the only evidence of his breakdown being his red eyes and sore throat. He moves quickly, knowing that Gracia, while not worried, would be wondering where he was. </p><p>          Maes lands gently inside the compound and walks to the house. There has always been something ominous about walking through the compound at night, it was a common dare between Maes and his cousins to force each other to do it, but now that feeling was extremely evident as Maes pictures where his clan members may have been laying on the street, ripped from their homes and killed. '<em>No, don't think about it! You're about to go see your wife, and besides you just finished one breakdown, you don't need another!</em>' Up ahead Maes sees the house light flooding the street, forcing away the shadows and their imposing nature. Basking in the glow for a moment, Maes tries to let the light wash away his dark thoughts. </p><p>          Gracia opens the door and smiles softly at Maes. "Welcome home Maes." Maes startled slightly at the voice of his beloved but quickly recovers and flashes her a brilliant, if sad, smile.</p><p>          "Hey, sorry I'm late."</p><p>          "Do you want to talk about it?" </p><p>          Maes shakes his head. ”Not tonight. Right now, I just want to cuddle with my girls and go to sleep." Gracia reaches forward and grabs Maes’ hand to lead him inside. They head down to the room with Elicia, already asleep, and settle in. As soon as his head hits the pillow, Maes is out like a light.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>          You fucked up, Masao. You left me alone! For what, some girl? Did you not love me, your little brother? Big Brother I needed you and you left! Look what happened, I'm dead because of you! BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T THERE!! </em>
</p><p>          Maes looks out into the sea of darkness, his brother's scrunching in anger as he yells at him. “No- I didn’t know!<em> I couldn’t have known! </em>I'm sorry Tobi, I didn't mean too! If I knew I would've stayed!" Maes turns away from Tobi, shame and guilt clawing at his chest, only to find his parents shaking their heads in disappointment.</p><p><em>          You could have stopped him Masao, you could have saved everyone if you were here! Your selfishness got everyone killed! You’re no son of mine. You disappoint me, Masao.</em> </p><p>          His parents walk away, holding their heads in shame. Maes reaches out to them but they vanish, their voices haunting in the darkness. “Mum, Dad! I’m sorry! Don’t leave! <em>Please, don’t leave me alone!</em>”</p><p>          “Maes… Sweetie, you need to wake up.”</p><p>          “Papa? Come out of the scary place, Papa! Mama’s gonna make breakfast!”</p><p>          Maes looks around desperately for his girls, their faint voices slowly becoming clearer. "Gracia! Elicia! Where are you?"</p><p>          "Come on Maes, love, you've got another meeting today. And we need to go shopping for clothes today."</p><p>          "Papa, we were gonna go to the park, remember? Wake up!"</p><p>          Maes jolts up, eyes wide and searching, hand going to the knife under his pillow. He blinks slowly, searching the room for any threats. He finds none and he relaxes, his eyes landing on his girls. "Hey."</p><p>          "Hey. You okay? You've been mumbling in your sleep. That hasn't happened since the war."</p><p>          “I’m fine now that I’m awake. Sorry if I woke either of you.” Gracia smiles softly at Maes and pulls him into a hug. Elicia, not wanting to be left out, forces her way in between her parents and grins cheekily at them. Maes grins back and goes in for the tickle attack. “Haha, you can’t escape the tickle monster from here Elicia!!”</p><p>          “Agh, no Papa! Stop! Noo!” Elicia tries to squirm away from Maes, laughing happily. Gracia smiles softly at the scene, glad that Maes is no longer stuck in his head. </p><p>          “Come on you two, let’s go have breakfast then we can head out for the day. Elicia, let your Papa get dressed.”</p><p>          Maes releases Elicia, who makes her escape to the kitchen. Gracia follows their child, leaving Maes alone in the room. His smile drops slightly as he runs a hand through his hair and across his face. '<em>Fuck, I'm not ready for today.</em>' Maes groans and moves about getting ready, going over the information the Sandaime brought up in the meeting yesterday. '<em>Sasuke, left alone at age eight, living in the same house where his parents were murdered. Naruto, living alone, I'd assume he left the Konoha Orphanage at age six, just after he started at the Academy. Fucking hell, who left these kids alone! No wonder Sasuke was crying and Naruto's a prankster!</em>'</p><p>          Maes moves on into the kitchen area to eat with his girls before they all leave. Walking to the compound's gate, Maes is ecstatic to find Gai and what looks to be his genin. “Gai, how come you’re here? And are these your genin? They’re cute.” </p><p>          The only kunoichi blushes at the compliment, turning away slightly to hide her face. Gai’s mini me smiles brilliantly before yelling something about ‘Youth’. Gai’s final team member, a sullen-looking boy with long hair, scoffs and turns away.</p><p>          “Haha, yes they are. This is Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hyuga Neji. We’re Team 9. I came to tell you that the Sandaime is requesting your presence. And I thought it might be nice to show your family around the village while you’re busy.”</p><p>          “Hey kiddos, I’m Maes. I was on Gai’s genin team when we were around your age. What do you think, Gracia? My meeting could take a while. I’ll come find you after I’m finished.” Gracia walks up and kisses Maes on the cheek.</p><p>          “That’s fine, Maes. Elicia and I will see you later, besides I want to hear stories from when you were a child.” Gracia smiles sweetly and Maes stares in horror. </p><p>          “You little minx!” Maes wraps Gracia in a hug, his arms resting over her shoulders and his head atop of hers. Gracia giggles gently and leans into the hug. “Hmm, well I guess I’ll leave my ladies in your care, Gai. Elicia, be nice to the genin and have fun! I’ll see you both later.” Maes gives Gracia a kiss and Elicia a quick hug before high-fiving Gai and leaping to the top of the nearest building. </p>
<hr/><p>          Maes feels dread settle in his stomach the closer he gets to the Hokage’s office. Genma is outside the office when Maes arrives. A quick fist-bump calms Maes just enough that he can put on his mask. He walks into the office and takes note of Nara Shikaku’s presence. “You called for me, Hokage-sama?”</p><p>          “Ah, Maes, thank you for coming on such short notice. Shikaku, you remember Uchiha Masao?” </p><p>          Maes hides a grimace with a bright smile, bowing his head slightly to the Jonin Commander. "Shikaku-sensei." </p><p>          "You're supposed to be dead."</p><p>          "As eloquent as always I see. You got old."</p><p>          Shikaku sighs loudly before smiling. “If you didn’t act like an ass, I would’ve asked you to be sent to T&amp;I. Glad to have you back, problem child.”</p><p>          “Oi! I’m not a child anymore, asshole! I have a wife and kid! And they’re adorable, want to see a picture?” Maes searches through his pockets for his favourite picture of his girls. “This is my wife, Gracia, and our six-year-old daughter, Elicia. Aren’t they adorable?” Shikaku smiles at Maes as he talks excitedly about his family.</p><p>          “Ahem. Now that that issue is out of the way, Shikaku this is Maes Hughes, previously Uchiha Masao. Maes, could you please brief us on your last mission and what information you found out.”</p><p>          “Of course. The mission was a six-month undercover mission with Aoba in the country of Amestris to determine whether they could be a threat to the Elemental Nations. Infiltrating the country was easy enough, we entered through the East because it was easier to pass through the desert. We moved into Central, where the government operates from. The country is a military dictatorship run by the Führer; a man named King Bradley. Part of our cover was integrating with the local teens while Aoba was to be my brother. We mostly hung around local parks and the public library to gather intel. Two months into the mission I met the girl who became my wife. I met my best friend a month after that and the three of us were inseparable, still are, current circumstances notwithstanding. By the time the mission was ending Aoba and I found out that Amestris wasn’t a threat because they didn’t know anything about us.”</p><p>          “This is good news.” The Sandaime smiles at Maes, who is glad that that was over. “Shikaku, will you test Maes to see if he’s fit to return to active duty? I believe training ground three is available because Kakashi’s team is on a mission.”</p><p>          “What a drag. But I guess it can’t be helped. I’m going to borrow Genma and Gai as well, Hokage-sama. It’ll be nice to have our team back together.”</p><p>          Maes starts backing away from Shikaku as fast as possible. “Oh fuck! Genma! Genma, save me! Shikaku-sensei is going to kill me!” Genma opens the door of the office and finds Maes trying and failing to get out of Shikaku’s Shadow Possession Jutsu.</p><p>          “I don't even want to know."</p><p>          "Betrayal!! Ah, that reminds me. Hokage-sama, what can you tell me about Naruto and Sasuke's childhoods? Because from what I've seen and heard they weren't good."</p><p>          The Sandaime seems to deflate and Shikaku releases Maes, who looks expectantly at him. "I was hoping I could distract you with training, clearly whatever you did in Amestris really curbed your spontaneity. Let's start with Sasuke, it's the easiest to explain. When Sasuke was eight years old, Uchiha Itachi massacred the Uchiha clan. His motives are still unknown. He placed Sasuke in a genjutsu and escaped. Sasuke was released from the hospital one week later and returned to both the Academy and the compound."</p><p>          "Pardon the disrespect but what the fuck!! You let an eight-year-old child return to the same place where his brother murdered their entire clan? My girls and I moved into Fugaku-san's house and there was still blood on the tatami! Shit, if Sasuke had the easy story then what's Naruto's?"</p><p>          "Maybe we should leave Naruto's tale for another day." The Sandaime deflects. Maes sees red as his Sharingan flare in response to his anger.</p><p>          "We will not. I need to know everything that happened so I can raise these two boys correctly. What. Happened."</p><p>          The Sandaime sighs and rubs his face, suddenly looking years older. "Of course. The year after you left both Naruto and Sasuke were born. It was near the end of the Third Shinobi War, Kushina gave birth to Naruto before being taken away by a masked man. Minato took Naruto to a safe house before going after Kushina, who's seal was weakened by the labour allowing this masked man to rip Kyuubi out of her. The Kyuubi started rampaging through the village, destroying buildings at every opportunity. Minato had saved Kushina and dropped Gamabunta on the Kyuubi to stop it. Kushina used her Adamantine chains to try and re-seal Kyuubi within her but she wasn't strong enough. Minato used an Uzumaki seal to make Naruto the Kyuubi's next jinchuriki."</p><p>          "Fuck… Does he know who his parents are? Does he know about the Kyuubi?" Maes runs a hand through his hair. ‘<em>These poor boys.</em>’</p><p>          "He doesn't know who his parents were. But he does know about the Kyuubi, unfortunately."</p><p>          "Unfortunately! You were planning to never tell him! That's ridiculous! This boy has never heard the names of his parents and you weren’t going to tell him that he was a jinchuriki.” Maes sees red as his Sharingan activates involuntarily.</p><p>          “Now Maes, there is no need to be upset. Naruto has been getting an allowance so he would have food and clothes.”</p><p>          “No need! You left two very young children without supervision for most of their life. They are twelve. They should be spoiled by loving parents, not living alone. When they get back from their mission, I will be moving Naruto into the Uchiha compound. No ifs or buts about it.”</p><p>          The Sandaime, Genma and Shikaku stare at Maes at his declaration. The Hokage looks like he is going to argue with Maes when the office door slams open.</p><p>          “Hiruzen, what’s this about an Uchiha returning to the village?” Maes turns slowly towards the man who interrupted his righteous fury. ‘<em>Oh look, Danzo. Lovely.</em>’</p><p>          “Shimura Danzo, what a surprise. I thought my meeting with the Hokage was private.” Danzo looks at Maes, his eyes widening in surprise at the Sharingan staring back at him.</p><p>          “Who did you take those eyes from, boy?”</p><p>          “Take? These are my eyes.” Maes stops the chakra flow to his eyes, Sharingan returning to his normal hazel. A hungry glint flashes through Danzo’s eye and Maes suppresses a shiver. “Hokage-sama, I’ll leave you to your next meeting. Shikaku-sensei, Genma, shall we go find Gai? I need to hit something right now. Danzo.” Maes bows his head to the Sandaime and jumps out the nearest window.</p>
<hr/><p>          Maes makes for the market, eyes and chakra searching for his wife and friend. ‘<em>There.</em>’ Maes drops from the rooftops and lands behind Gracia, wrapping his hands around her waist. “Hi there. What have we found in our shopping adventure?”</p><p>          Gracia jumps slightly in his arms but turns towards him. “Hello love. How was your meeting?”</p><p>          Maes sighs and buries his face in her hair. “It could have gone a lot better. But it’s over now and when we get back, we’ll have to prep another room for Naruto.”</p><p>          “Well it’s a good thing I know my way around the markets now.” Maes pulls away, untangling his glasses from her hair. Elicia tugs on his leg and holds her hands up. Maes swoops down and grabs his baby girl.</p><p>          “Hi there Elicia! Have you been good for Mama?” Elicia nods her head enthusiastically. “That’s good. Well sorry to cut your escort short but I need to kidnap Gai and his genin. You’ll be okay without them, right?”</p><p>          “We’ll be fine, won’t we Elicia? You go do what you need, we’ll be at home when you’re done. Have fun.” Gracia reaches up to give Maes a kiss before taking Elicia from his arms.</p><p>          “Bye Papa, see you later!” The girls walk off to continue shopping. Maes beckons Gai and his genin over.</p><p>          “We’re heading to training ground three. Bring your genin Gai, they can watch my evaluation.” Gai nods and they all head off. It takes next to no time to arrive at the training ground. Shikaku-sensei and Genma are already there, stretching lightly and chatting.</p><p>          “Glad you could make it. Alright Maes, this is your official skill evaluation to determine whether or not you can return to active duty. Let’s get this over with.” Shikaku drawls out. “It’ll be Maes versus everyone here, that includes your genin Gai.”</p><p>          “Lovely. <em>Hi, I just need you to fight three jonin and three genin before you can go back to work.</em> Are you trying to kill me?” Maes exclaims, sarcasm rolling off his tongue with ease. Genma grins, the senbon in his mouth lift slightly in response. Maes grins back, settling into a relaxed stance, hands near his knives. “So, is it one-on-one or all against me?”</p><p>          “Ready? Go!” Maes grabs a knife and throws it at Genma, who dodges it, and shushins away to plan. ‘<em>I know Gai will try to get me into close combat, so will all of his genin. Genma specialises in ninjutsu and poisons, need to keep my Sharingan up if I get into combat with him. Shikaku-sensei is a long-range fighter, I need to keep an eye on his shadows.</em>’ Maes hears the slightest rustling of leaves from behind him so he leaps forward into a small clearing. Chakra floods to his eyes as he activates Sharingan, searching for whoever made the noise. ‘<em>There.</em>’ Maes shushins behind Tenten.</p><p>          “Sorry about this. Futon: Wind Cage Jutsu!” Tenten didn’t react fast enough and Maes’ catches her, the jutsu creating a cube of sharp winds that cut the prisoner when touched. Maes turns away to leave, knowing that one of his opponents was out of the way.</p><p>          “Twin Rising Dragons!” Maes turns back to see Tenten unseal multitudes of shuriken and kunai into the wind.</p><p>          "Tenten that's not going to help you get out. Cool technique though." Maes leaves the kunoichi to her fate. Silently speeding through the trees, Maes begins the hunt for the little Hyuga. It doesn't take him long as the little Hyuga keeps flaring his chakra, not really bothering to hide. Maes walks nonchalantly towards the boy, a casual smile and posture on display. "Hey there, Neji right?"</p><p>          Neji drops into the signature stance of the Gentle Fist taijutsu style. "Don't think this will be easy because you're older than me."</p><p>          “I would never. Come on then.” Maes falls back into a relaxed fighting stance with a knife in easy reach. Neji makes the first move, his Byakugan active. Maes blocks a sharp jab to the arm by grabbing his wrist. Neji tries to get out of the hold by attacking Maes’ tenketsu with his other hand. Maes dodges, using his momentum to flip Neji over his shoulder. He punches Neji in the gut, causing him to release his Byakugan. Maes stares Neji in the eyes for two seconds before the boy slumps backwards, seemingly asleep, the genjutsu taking hold easily. ‘<em>Two down, four to go. Now if I was Gai, or his mini me for that matter, I wouldn’t bother hiding.</em>’</p><p>          Maes shushins back to the large clearing where they started and finds the two people he was looking for. “Hey there Gai, Rock.”</p><p>          “Please call me Lee, sir. And how did you know Rock was my first name?”</p><p>          “Sure thing Lee, and it was a guess. It’s the same way my name is said, don’t worry about it. So, shall we begin?” Both taijutsu masters fall into a fighting stance, mirror images of each other. Maes smiles at them, hands in his pocket, looking perfectly calm. The breeze moves hair and clothing softly, a comfortable silence settles over the three combatants. Each of them waiting for the other to make the first move. Maes tilts his head slightly to the left as a senbon comes flying past his face. "Genma you prick! Get out here and fight me you coward! Sorry Gai, Lee, I have a senbon user to murder, I'll be back!" Gai sputters at Maes' abrupt departure past the two of them and into the trees. Genma's laughter echoing through the trees. Maes sprints towards him, dodging flying senbon all the while.</p><p>          Maes catches up to Genma quickly enough, the senbon wielding ninja trying hard not to fall over from laughing. "Ha, ha, man, I’ve missed this. Come at me asshole, let’s settle this like we used to.” Genma rights himself, a senbon between each finger. Maes grins and pulls out a pair of his trusty push knives.</p><p>          “Let’s get this party started then.” With that Maes leaps towards Genma, knives at the ready. Genma releases his senbon into the air, hoping to catch his opponent off guard. Maes, being used to this technique, activates his Sharingan and dodges every one of them.</p><p>          “Oi, oi, oi, that’s cheating! When did you get those?”</p><p>          “Wouldn’t you like to know, asshole!” Maes gets in close, aiming a punch at Genma’s face. He blocks and sends back a punch of his own.</p><p>          “Well that’s why I asked, dumbass!” Maes laughs and tries again. They trade blows, knives and senbon, neither giving in. “Maes, my guy, what happened to you? The Sharingan only unlocks through trauma. Who hurt you?”</p><p>          “Ah, that. Yeah, that’s something to discuss with a shit ton of sake.” Genma nods and they keep fighting. Maes dodges a senbon to the eye and gets a clean hit to Genma’s side. Another quick punch gives Maes the upper hand. A barrage of punches and kicks later leaves Genma looking like he’d been hit by a truck.</p><p>          “F-fuck, you got really strong in the last decade. Holy shit, this hurts. You know, I think I’m going to just sit here.” Maes laughs and helps Genma pull up some ground, resting him against a tree.</p><p>          “You did well, Genma. We’ll have that chat later, okay?” Genma nods half-heartedly. Maes feels the hair on the back of his neck rise so he jumps straight up into the air and lands sideways on a tree. “You think you’re slick old man?”</p><p>          Shikaku chuckles and steps out from behind the trees. “What a drag. How did you know?”</p><p>          Maes smiles down at Shikaku. “I’m a soldier and a ninja. What do you think?” Shikaku laughs again. Maes jumps off the tree and goes to attack Shikaku, knife in each hand. Shikaku dodges out of the way, ducking and weaving, to avoid the onslaught of attacks. Maes, all the while, is slowly weaving a genjutsu in the air. Maes gives Shikaku no chance to use his Shadow Possession Jutsu and activates his Sharingan. Shikaku’s eyes widen at the suddenness of them and Maes reaches forward to catch the falling man once the genjutsu takes hold. “Few, that was close, I did not want to fight him.” Genma stares as Maes moves Shikaku to lie near him.</p><p>          “Huh- But- What? You’ve never been good at genjutsu!! How??”</p><p>          Maes grins cheekily at Genma. “I don’t know what you mean?” Genma just gapes like a fish. “What?” Genma flounders a bit before giving up.</p><p>          “Just leave. You still have to fight Gai and his mini me, right?”</p><p>          Maes nods and leaves Genma to his confusion. Maes shushins back out to the clearing and finds Gai and Lee just standing there… Well, having a push up competition, really. “Uh, hey. I’m back. We can fight now.” They instantly stop doing push ups and get into their mirrored fighting stances. Maes has his hands in his pockets, looking ready to have a chat instead of a fight. The breeze seems to hold its breath, everything in the training ground still. Maes forms a jutsu with one hand, waiting for the right moment to release it. Gai shifts his left foot slightly, causing Maes to make the first move. “Futon: Wind Scythe Jutsu!” The wind kicks up significantly, blowing dust and leaves around. The jutsu cuts up the ground and trees, forcing Gai and Lee to separate. Maes was on Gai in a second, knife slashing at his face. </p><p>          “Argh! Lee, be careful!”</p><p>          Maes gives a lifeless grin, never wavering in his assault. Gai tries to dodge each attack but some get through his guard. The hair on Maes’ neck begins to rise again so he kicks out Gai’s legs, knocking him flat before he turns and catches Lee’s kick to the head. Lee gulps at the disconcerting look on Maes’ face. </p><p>          “Hey there kiddo.” Lee tries to pull away but Maes’ grip is too strong. Maes stands up slowly, lifting Lee’s leg higher in doing so. A simple flick of the arm causes Lee to be flipped onto his back. A quick punch to Lee’s face knocks the kid out. ‘<em>Hmph. Five down, one to go.</em>’ Gai is back on his feet and looking wary. Maes turns to face his friend, a more relaxed smile on his face. </p><p>          “That was terrifying. When did you get this good?”</p><p>          Maes looks tiredly at Gai. “I’ll tell you and Genma over drinks tonight. I will definitely need alcohol for this story. Come on, let’s finish this.” Maes drops into a fighting stance holding his knife loosely in his right hand. Gai also drops into a stance, ready for anything. As soon as the breeze stops, they both fly at each other, trading blows quickly. Gai catches Maes in the face with a solid blow, blood flying. A pause in fighting allows Maes to wipe the blood on his sleeve. He grins and they start fighting again. Maes gets in a hit this time, one to Gai’s gut causing the breath to be knocked out of him. Quick, repetitive strikes to Gai’s head make him dizzy and allows Maes to pin him to the floor. Gai tries to get out of Maes’ grip but can’t so taps out.</p><p>          “Hah, guess I win.” Maes gets off of Gai and flares his chakra to release the genjutsus and wind cage. Dropping to the floor Maes waits for everyone to come back and catches his breath. Shikaku arrives through the trees first, helping Genma. The little Hyuga is next and he sends a death glare at Maes, who chuckles softly. Tenten arrives last, looking a little worse for wear, covered in small cuts from the cage and her weapons.</p><p>          “Well, I guess you can come back to active duty. Report to Ibiki in T and I tomorrow for a psych eval. This was such a drag.” And with that Shikaku shushins out of the training ground.</p><p>          “Well, I need to go see my girls but Genma, Gai, I’ll see you at the tavern later.” Maes bows out of there before he can be roped into helping Genma to the hospital, who notices and yells after him. Maes laughs and runs back to the compound.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Revelations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's been a hot minute, I know. </p>
<p>Hopefully this chapter makes it up to you! I recommend you re-read the first couple of chapters if you've been reading since the first chapter, I did some edits that changed some story elements</p>
<p>I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>          Maes arrives back in the compound, heart light and less frustrated. <em>Wait a second, son of a bitch! Fucking Sandaime thinks he’s slick. Bastard didn’t tell me about Tobi, didn’t tell me about Danzo and his bullshit, didn’t tell me where Naruto lives. I swear to fuck, if he’s hiding more from me, I might start a coup.</em> Maes shakes his head lightly, trying to dislodge these thoughts. <em>Tomorrow, I’ll deal with this tomorrow. </em>Maes heads home, wanting nothing more than to see his girls and collapse for an hour. Meandering through the compound, Maes’ feet lead him to the one house he’s been avoiding. </p>
<p>          Approaching the house carefully, Maes braces himself and opens the door. A rush of stale air flows past Maes and he shudders. Walking through the empty hall leads Maes deeper into his childhood home. The first room he comes to <strike>belongs</strike> <em>belonged </em>to his parents. He keeps moving, <em>don’t think about it, just keep moving! </em>Going up the stairs, Maes is greeted by pictures of Tobi and himself at the end of the hall, dead flowers and incense ashes decorate the end table that hosts the family’s butsudan. Maes walks over to it and flips his picture face down. Opening the table’s drawer, Maes pulls out an incense stick and lights it, praying for his family quietly before squaring his shoulders and opening the door to his old room. </p>
<p>          The room hasn’t changed since he moved out at 15, always ready in case he wanted to come home, bar the thick layer of dust from being untouched for four years. “Fuuton: Gentle Breeze Jutsu.” Maes breathes out slowly as the chakra-fuelled air sweeps through the room, clearing it of dust. The now clean room consists of a writing desk, wardrobe and a weapon display case. “It’s still here, good.” Maes walks over to the display case and removes the glass gently. Inside is the family blade, Shinatobe, a traditional nodachi blade. The scabbard is black, decals of the Uchiha fan and the Sharingan decorate it in an alternating pattern. The guard is a simple round piece of steel with channels carved into it. The blade is one metre of folded steel, sharpened to perfection and the handle is black wood wrapped in a red nylon. Resting Shinatobe on his shoulder, Maes leaves his old room. </p>
<p>          Maes goes into his parents’ room next. The room looks ransacked. <em>Itachi must have pulled them out of their room in the middle of the night.</em> He uses his gentle breeze technique to clean away as much of the dust as possible and goes about straightening the room to how his parents normally had it. Going to the chest at the end of his parent’s bed, Maes begins shuffling through paperwork and scrolls looking for a specific scroll. <em>Come on, come on, where is it? </em>Maes tips the chest out onto the floor and starts swiping through the mess to search faster. A few moments later Maes finds what he’s looking for and cheers. “Haha! I knew it would still be here!” Shoving the scroll into his back pocket he cleans up the mess on the floor and leaves his parents’ room.</p>
<p>          Walking over to Obito’s door, Maes hesitates before going inside. The room is just as dusty as his own but a quick use of his jutsu and the room is clean. Maes walks over to Obito’s display case, which he remembers containing a pair of escrima sticks. <em>It’s empty. Why the fuck is Tobi’s case empty? </em>“Hatake better have a fucking explanation for this!” Maes leaves via Obito’s window and makes a break for the new house, angry tears running down his face. </p>
<p>          Maes’ tears have dried up by the time he gets home. He toes his boots off quickly and leaves Shinatobe by the door, before going to find Gracia. Maes gives Gracia no warning before wrapping her in a hug from behind, his head burying into her shoulder. “Maes? Are you alright?”</p>
<p>          Maes holds Gracia tighter and shakes his head. Gracia turns in his arms and wraps him in a hug. They stay like this for a while, Gracia just supporting Maes while he grounds himself. Maes gives a shuddering breath and pulls away from his wife, looking into her eyes and kisses her gently. “I am now but Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura might not have a sensei when they get back.”</p>
<p>          “How bad?”</p>
<p>          “It will depend entirely on what he does when they return. If the kids are separated, he’s going to die. At least after I’ve grilled the shit out of him for information about my baby brother.”</p>
<p>          Gracia giggles at that and pulls away. “Maybe don’t kill the man teaching your cousin.”</p>
<p>          “But-”</p>
<p>          “No buts. Now, help me start dinner.” With that Gracia and Maes busy themselves in the kitchen. </p>
<p>          “Papa! Papa! Can we play ninja?” Maes turns away from the food and looks down at Elicia. Her bright green eyes staring innocently up at him. Maes hums, turning back to the patties he’s cooking.</p>
<p>          “I don’t know. Were you good for Mama today?” Elicia nods energetically and bounces on the spot. “Is it okay with Mama if we play ninja before dinner?”</p>
<p>          “Mama! Can I play ninja with Papa? Please!” Gracia pretends to think about it causing Elicia to start becoming more and more impatient. “Mamaaaa! Please!! I want to play ninja with Papa!”</p>
<p>          Gracia smiles down at her little ball of energy. “I suppose you and Papa can go play ninja for a bit.” Elicia cheers and runs out of the kitchen yelling ninja at the top of her lungs. Maes laughs aloud and leans over Gracia to give her a kiss.</p>
<p>          “I had best go entertain our daughter.” With that Maes leaves Gracia to finish dinner and goes hunting for Elicia, whose giggles gave her away. “You know Elicia, sweetie, ninjas are quiet.” The giggles stop. “Good. Okay Elicia, what are the three main skills of a ninja?” Maes is slowly walking through the house to the backyard.</p>
<p>          “Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu!” Maes smiles to himself, a subtle pulse of chakra tells him that Elicia is following him outside.</p>
<p>          “That’s good, angel. What about chakra, what is it?” Maes sits in the middle of the backyard, legs crossed, and eyes shut. He pulses his chakra in time with his breathing, picking up Elicia’s on every exhale.</p>
<p>          “Chakra is the life force of living beings. Ninja are taught how to mould it to do magic!” Maes grins, <em>of course she said magic</em>.</p>
<p>          “Not quite magic and before you say it not quite alchemy like Daddy and Ed. Chakra is innate, all living things have it but only shinobi and sage summons can manipulate it.” Maes listens intently, picking up the faintest sounds of Elicia moving around the yard. “Now, if I open my eyes and see you, you’ll have to perform a Substitution Jutsu to hide again. Ready?” Elicia doesn’t respond, <em>good, she’s learning.</em> Maes’ eyes flick open and land on his little girl. She quickly forms the hand signs for the Substitution Jutsu and switches places with a log. “Excellent Elicia! Come back and perform the Transformation Jutsu.” Elicia walks out from the side of the house and stands in front of him. </p>
<p>          “Inu. I. Hitsuji. Transformation Jutsu.” Maes was expecting her to turn into himself or maybe Gracia. Instead, Elicia surprises him by turning into Roy. </p>
<p>          Maes smiles softly at her. “Do you miss Daddy, angel?” Elicia nods. “Me too. Come here.” Elicia drops the henge and jumps into Maes’ arms for a hug.</p>
<p>          “When can we see Daddy, Papa? I miss him.” The two of them sat there until it was time for dinner. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>          "Who really killed Maes Hughes, Envy." Roy stares at the homunculus in front of Fullmetal. He watches it posture about Second Lieutenant Ross, “We know it wasn’t Ross.”</p>
<p>          “Oh? Well in that case. You got me.” Roy watches in horror as this thing transforms into Gracia. <em>No, it didn’t! </em>“<strong><em>Yes</em></strong>! That was the same face Hughes made when I killed him dressed like his wife!” Roy is filled with rage as he sees Envy force it’s disgusting expression on the face of <em>his Gracia!</em> </p>
<p>          “Envy, you sick fuck!!” Roy barely registers Fullmetal’s screams, too focused on the monster wearing Gracia’s face. </p>
<p>          “Fullmetal, keep moving! I’ll deal with this one.” Envy tries to stop Fullmetal and his tag-alongs, but Roy isn’t having it. With a snap, Envy is enveloped in flames and Fullmetal and company have the ability to escape. “You talk too much. How does it feel to have your tongue melted?” Envy starts regenerating, flashes of red and black lightning surrounding it. Roy watches as Envy changes from its base human form to a gigantic green monster with six limbs and human bodies growing out of its sides and tongue. </p>
<p>          “MUSTANG! What do you think? Horrific, isn’t it. Argh-” Roy gives the thing no chance to talk again by snapping his fingers and melting its eyeballs.</p>
<p>          “You thought you were safer being bigger? It just gives me a bigger target.”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>          Maes finishes putting Elicia to bed and finds Gracia sitting in the dining room with a cup of tea and a book. He stands behind her chair, arms over her shoulders and chin on her head. “I’m meeting with Genma and Gai soon. I don’t know when I’ll return, this conversation will be rough, but they deserve to know.”</p>
<p>          “Everything?” Gracia turns to look up at him.</p>
<p>          “Yeah, everything. Hopefully they can fill me in about what happened here as well. Look after this for me? It’s something I need to deal with in the morning. “Maes pulls out the scroll he found and places it on the table. Gracia nods and Maes leans down to give Gracia a long kiss. “I’ll see you later. I love you.”</p>
<p>          “Love you too. Have fun with your team.” Maes gives Gracia one more kiss before making a beeline for the door. Shinatobe is still sitting innocently against the wall, the long blade looking quite comfortable. <em>Silly sword.</em> Maes puts his boots on, readjusts his glasses and heads out the door.</p>
<p>          The Wandering Fox was the go-to place for Team Shikaku after missions. Konoha’s legal drinking age is twenty but if you’re a shinobi it’s more of a ‘If you’re old enough to die, you’re old enough to drink’ law. Maes’ feet lead him through the familiar paths to the Wandering Fox. Standing outside, Maes sees a wooden board hammered over the word ‘Fox’ changing the bar’s name to the Wandering Tiger. <em>Tch, assholes.</em> Walking inside reveals the same layout it had twelve years ago. “Oi, Fox-jiji! What happened to the sign?” Maes calls out to the man behind the bar.</p>
<p>          “With what happened that night they demanded I change it. I thought you knew that Masao.” Maes grins to himself and leans against the bar, waiting. Matsuoka Hayato, aka Fox-jiji, is a shinobi-turned-barkeep who retired after a bad leg injury during the Second Shinobi War. His dark hair has streaks of grey and he walks with a limp. </p>
<p>          Maes drums his fingers against the counter, “I don’t know about that one Fox-jiji, I’ve been busy.” Hayato huffs gently at that. “Are Gai and Genma here yet?”</p>
<p>          “Yeah, they’re out back in your usual room.”</p>
<p>          “Thanks Fox-jiji! I owe you an explanation but that’ll have to wait.” Maes waves to Hayato as he passes and follows his feet to the backroom Team Shikaku claimed as theirs when they were kids. Genma and Gai are sitting in companionable silence with some sake on the table. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late! I was trying to see if Fox-jiji would react any differently, the answer is no.”</p>
<p>          Gai lets out a boisterous laugh and Genma shakes his head. “Of course, you did Maes. Sit down already, I bet you have as much if not more questions than we do.”</p>
<p>          Maes flops to the floor and accepts the drink Genma hands him. “You’re right on that front but I definitely owe you your explanation first.” Maes takes a sip of his sake and sighs. “Man, how do I start this. Uh, right, let’s start there. Do you both remember that S-rank mission Aoba and I went on?” Both men nod. “We were sent to a distant country called Amestris to determine if it was a threat to the Elemental Nations. Aoba and I were pretending to be brothers that moved to Central to study. That was the easy part. It was learning the political climate of the country that was the difficult part. Amestris is a military country, similar to the shinobi villages, but more controlled. The leader of Amestris, Führer King Bradley, is essentially the Hokage and the Daimyo combined. They aren’t a threat to us, thankfully, but only because they don’t know what exists past the three other countries that surround them. Aoba did most of the recon because I was… busy.” </p>
<p>          “You were chasing skirts, weren’t you?” Genma levels Maes with an impressive deadpan glare. Gai laughs into his cup. Maes sputters and tries to deny it but Genma’s gaze doesn’t let up.</p>
<p>          “Okay, fine, you got me. I was chasing Gracia.” <em>And Roy. </em>“Not important… actually, this <em>is</em> important! Look at my girls! Aren’t they just the most perfect girls you’ve ever seen?” Maes pulls out his trusty photo album and shows off pictures of Gracia and Elicia. Genma is the first to grab the photos, surprisingly. Gai narrows his eyes slightly as he looks over Genma’s shoulder at the pictures.</p>
<p>          “Is Elicia performing jutsu in these?”</p>
<p>          “In some of them, yeah. I got her started when she was three. It was important to me that they both learnt how to protect themselves, especially after...”</p>
<p>          “After?” Gai’s question brings Genma’s attention back to their teammate. Maes shudders quickly and gives a long sigh. Genma looks extremely concerned. He knew Maes was less emotionally stunted then his clan but for something to scare him so much he shudders, well, that’s a new one.</p>
<p>          “After I convinced Aoba to give the KIA order and leave me in Amestris with Gracia, I enrolled into the Amestrian Military Academy. For something familiar, you know? After graduating from there, I worked in Intelligence. At least until the year Elicia was born. That year, Führer Bradley commenced Order three-zero-six-six. A mass influx of Amestrian soldiers and State Alchemists were sent to the front lines of the Ishvalan Civil War.” Maes stops to take a shuddering breath as he tries to ignore the flashes of dead Ishvalans. Gai and Genma sit in horrified silence as they process this information. “Order three-zero-six-six was nicknamed the Ishvalan Extermination Act by the civilians of Amestris. Gracia and my other partner, Roy, was with me during this. We both killed many people, me with my knives and Roy with his Flame Alchemy. So many children died, Gai. We didn't have a choice. I killed so many children." Maes breaks, tears stream down his face as he falls into a panic attack. "I- I- Fuck! So many, Genma. And I couldn't stop. Stopping meant my own death and I couldn’t do that to Gracia, Roy and our newborn girl." Gai is by Maes' side instantly, hugging him fiercely as he cries.</p>
<p>          "Let me guess, full awakening of your Sharingan?" Maes nods into Gai's shoulder, tears now starting to slow down. Genma sighs and rubs a hand over his face. "Fuck Maes. That’s… not what I was expecting. Shit man, how did you keep going?”</p>
<p>          “I had Gracia, Roy and Elicia to live for. They kept me sane. Now you know why Elicia is doing jutsus in some of the pictures. She needs to know how to protect herself.” Maes untangles himself from Gai and takes a swig of his drink. “After three-zero-six-six I worked my way up the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel and became the head of the Amestrian Intelligence department. Roy became a Colonel but was stationed in East City with Riza, so we didn’t see him often, but we did call frequently. Roy went and found himself a pair of prodigal brothers and recruited them. The eldest, Edward, is fifteen now and his brother, Alphonse, is fourteen. Together the two of them travel around Amestris looking for ways to fix a mistake they made when they were younger. The information they found led to why I came home. They discovered a secret plot that runs through the entire government of Amestris. As head of intel I looked into it for them, to try and help. My digging put a target on my back… Roy thinks that myself and the girls are dead.”</p>
<p>          Genma sits with a contemplative look on his face and Gai sputters. “Why would you do that to this Roy fellow? Don’t you love him?”</p>
<p>          “OF COURSE, I FUCKING LOVE HIM!” Maes screams at Gai. “Of course, I do, but I didn’t have time! I had to get the girls to safety asap. He would understand.”</p>
<p>          Maes takes a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down. Gai and Genma both look shocked by his outburst. “I’m sorry Maes. I didn’t mean to imply-”</p>
<p>          “You meant what you meant but I get it. I would probably say the same thing in different circumstances, you are forgiven.” Maes sighs deeply. “So that’s what happened to me. Your turn, what happened after I was declared dead by Aoba?”</p>
<p>          “For starters Minato-sensei was devastated that you wouldn’t meet his kid. Gai and I had to drag Shikaku-sensei here to the Fox to drink and mourn. Obito died not long after you did. Kakashi has his eye.”</p>
<p>          “What?”</p>
<p>          Gai shuffles in his spot. “Obito gave Kakashi his Sharingan on the mission he died. His other teammate, Rin, jumped in the way of Kakashi’s technique and died during a different mission. Kakashi is a mess.”</p>
<p>          Genma takes over again. “The next year, someone attacked Kushina-san and removed the Kyuubi because the seal had weakened during childbirth. This man then sent the Kyuubi on a rampage. Minato-sensei and Kushina-san died to seal the Fox in Naruto. Sarutobi-sama made this knowledge an S-rank secret and made it impossible for shinobi who knew Minato-sensei to raise Naruto. Though the S-rank tag only prevented people from telling Naruto. The entire village, bar the children, know that Naruto is the Fox’s jinchuriki.”</p>
<p>          “Fuck. If I find out that he stole Obito’s eye, I’ll kill him. And I’m going to end Sarutobi’s existence.”</p>
<p>          “Understandable. Nothing much happened after that. Not until the Massacre. Apparently, Fugaku was planning a coup against Sarutobi-sama.” Maes mutters ‘fair’ under his breath. “There are whispers that Danzo ordered Itachi to kill your Clan but nothing concrete has been found.”</p>
<p>          “Fucking Danzo. I’m going to end that trash bag of a councillor. Sarutobi told me that Naruto learnt about the Fox. Who told him?”</p>
<p>          “Some chunin named Mizuki. You never met him.” Maes sighs a final time before slamming back the rest of his drink and pouring another.</p>
<p>          “This is great, just great. What’s Itachi’s bounty in the Bingo Book?” Genma pulls out the most recent version of the Bingo Book and flicks to Itachi’s page. Maes takes a moment to stare at the face of his now seventeen-year-old cousin. His eyes move over to the information about him. <em>Skills: Genjutsu, Ninjutsu. Description: Black hair, Sharingan. Affiliation: Akatsuki.</em> “Who are the Akatsuki?”</p>
<p>          “A group of nukenin that hunt jinchuriki.”</p>
<p>          Maes hums and goes back to the book. <em>Bounty: One hundred and eighty-four million ryo. Not bad, kiddo. </em>“Right, next order of business. Get drunk out of our minds.” Gai and Genma each grab their glass and with a cheer of ‘Kanpai!’ the three men begin to drink and reminisce.</p>
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<p>          Fox-jiji let them crash in their room. When morning comes, Maes wakes with Gai and Genma on each side of him, curled up together like they would on missions. “Come on you two. I have shit to do today so I can’t stay here.” Genma groans and rolls away. Gai snuggles closer. “Come on Gai! Don’t you have genin to train?” That gets Gai’s attention and he’s awake with the energy of twelve men.</p>
<p>          “Shit. I need to report to the Hokage. I’ll catch you both later.” Genma shushins out of the bar, likely going to have a shower before appearing before Sarutobi. </p>
<p>          “I too need to leave. My genin might kill each other if I’m not there. See you around Maes!” Gai sprints out the door in three seconds.</p>
<p>          “... Mother fuckers! They left me with the tab! Ugh.” Maes cleans himself up quickly and heads out to the main floor of the Fox. “Morning Fox-jiji! Thanks for letting us crash.”</p>
<p>          “It’s no issue Masao.”</p>
<p>          “Ah, right! I go by Maes now. Maes Hughes, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Hayato huffs but accepts the hand Maes offers him.</p>
<p>          “Alright, kiddo. Maes then. About the tab?”</p>
<p>          “Charge the Hokage, he’s given me a lot of grief over the last three days and I could use some petty revenge.” Hayato laughs loudly and Maes grins.</p>
<p>          “Well, get going! This is a one-time thing though! Don’t expect me to charge Hokage-sama every time you and the boys try to drink my entire stock!” Maes laughs and leaves, calling thanks over his shoulder.</p>
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